Collapsible Retail Display

ABSTRACT

The collapsible display of the present disclosure and related inventions includes a plurality of pre-assembled parts which can be configured, without the use of tools, to form a reusable, merchandising display fixture. The display is quickly and easily constructed and quickly and easily deconstructed and stored. The entire display, with merchandise thereon, may be placed upon or integral with a standard shipping pallet for maximum mobility around the retail floor space. The collapsible display provides an inexpensive, collapsible, reusable display requiring minimum storage space when not in use.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/902,403, filed on Nov. 11, 2013, a copy of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is in the field of retail display fixtures, and more specifically, retail display fixtures for greeting card and social expression product merchandise.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Greeting cards for various occasions such as birthday, anniversary, wedding, etc. typically have a general location in which they are displayed at retail among various greeting card display fixtures. Due to the large variety of greeting cards that are offered in each category, many times entire display fixtures are dedicated to cards specific to a particular occasion or event. However, some seasonal greeting cards, such as, for example, Halloween, Easter, Mother's Day and Father's Day, or special product collections may not have a specific location or home among the categorized greeting cards on a conventional or generic greeting card fixture. This has in the past been remedied by using separate, temporary outpost fixtures to store and display cards for a limited time during a particular season or holiday. These fixtures were often constructed with temporary materials, such as cardboard, and attached to a pallet and pre-loaded with product which was moved into the greeting card department or other area of a retail store. Once the season or holiday passed, these temporary fixtures were discarded and new temporary fixtures were purchased for the next season or holiday. This practice added extra costs by requiring the purchase of new temporary storage displays for each new season or holiday. Another solution was to use collapsible displays having various hinges and sliding accessories. These collapsible displays were set up during each season or holiday and broken down after the season. This solution solved the temporary, one-use fixture dilemma of creating extra costs each time a new temporary fixture was needed, however, the collapsible displays were not compact when collapsed and thus took up a large amount of limited retail storage space during the off seasons. There is therefore a need in the industry for a reusable retail display fixture which can be easily assembled when needed and easily broken down and compactly when not in use.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a fully assembled Collapsible Retail Display of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a top portion of the Collapsible Retail Display of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a partially exploded view of a partially assembled Collapsible Retail Display of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3A is a close-up view of a portion of the Collapsible Retail Display of FIG. 4.

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of a partially assembled Collapsible Retail Display of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a partially assembled Collapsible Retail Display of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5A is a close-up view of a portion of the Collapsible Retail Display of FIG. 5.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a partially assembled Collapsible Retail Display of FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a partially assembled display frame of the Collapsible Retail Display of FIG. 1.

FIG. 7A is a close-up view of a portion of the display frame of the Collapsible Retail Display of FIG. 7.

FIG. 8 is an exploded view of the various components of the Collapsible Retail Display of FIG. 1.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The collapsible retail display of the present disclosure and related inventions includes a plurality of pre-assembled parts which can be configured, without the use of tools, to form a reusable, seasonal or occasional greeting card display fixture. The display is quickly and easily constructed and deconstructed and storable within a larger greeting card display fixture. The entire display, with merchandise, may be easily moved by the use of a fork lift, thereby providing maximum mobility around the retail floor space. The collapsible retail display provides an inexpensive, collapsible, reusable display requiring minimum storage space when not in use.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED AND ALTERNATE EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is directed to a collapsible and storable display having a plurality of pre-assembled parts or components which can be combined, without the use of tools, to make up a re-usable display for seasonal or occasional merchandise such as seasonal greeting cards and other social expression products. The display can be quickly assembled and disassembled and can be stored within a larger display drawer or cabinet. This display provides an economical, reusable, collapsible display which takes up minimum storage space when not in use and which prevents the waste and added expense of typical temporary, cardboard seasonal or occasional merchandise displays.

The various components of the display 100 of the present invention are all pre-assembled and contained within a carton. Setup is achieved by assembling the various parts to create a bumper base and framework which supports attached clear greeting card tiers or pockets and/or pegboard for the display of hanging products. Assembly does not require any tools, making setup quick and easy. The display frame 27 includes bumper panels 10A, 10B, corner posts 12, and long 14L and short 14S cross braces. Four bumper panels 10A, 10B are connected in a substantially square shape, thereby creating the base of the display fixture, shown in FIG. 7. A first pair 10A of opposing bumper panels contain a channel 16 at each end and a bracket 18 having a small opening or aperture thereon. A second pair of opposing bumper panels 10B have a button or projection 20 thereon. The ends of the second pair of opposing bumpers 10B are inserted into the channels 16 at the ends of the first pair of opposing bumpers 10A and the button or projection 20 is snapped into the bracket 18 to form a secured, substantially square display base, as shown in FIG. 7A. The first pair of opposing bumper panels 10A each contain two tube legs 22 attached thereto at a pivotable attachment point. Each pair of legs 22 are operative to move from a first position wherein the legs 22 are in a stored position parallel to the attached display frame bumper panel 10A into a second position wherein the legs 22 are pivoted about the attachment point into a locked position, perpendicular to the display frame bumper panel 10A to which they are attached, as shown in FIG. 7. The pivotable legs 22 can be placed into the storage position when the display 100 is taken down and put into storage. When setting up the display 100, the legs 22 are moved into the second, locked position, where they are operative to support the corner posts 12 of the display 100. The display base also contains two support rails 24 which are attached between the second pair of opposing bumper panels 10B. The ends of the support rails 24 are secured to the base by fitting the tabs contained thereon into channels formed on the second pair of opposing bumper panels 10B, also shown in FIG. 7A. After securing each of the bumper panels 10A, 10B together, moving the tube legs 22 into the upright, locked position and securely attaching the support rails 24, the base frame of the display is complete. The completed base frame 21 is sized to accommodate a fork lift so the entire fixture may be picked up and moved to various locations within the retail floor space.

A corner post 12 is inserted over each of the four tube legs 22 which are in the upright and locked position. Each of the four corner posts 12 contain an elongate channel which is inserted over the tube legs, as shown in FIG. 6. The elongate channel 12C is connected and perpendicular to a first end of a first panel 12A, the second end of the first panel 12A being attached to a second panel 12B which is also perpendicular to the first panel 12A. A sign holder panel 26 is slidably attached to an outer surface of each corner post 12. The sign holder panels 26 are positioned perpendicular to the first panel 12A of each of the four corner posts 12. Attaching the sign holder panels 26 creates two opposing long sides of the display and two opposing shorter sides of the display. Horizontal cross braces 14 are connected between each opposing corner post 12. Two long cross braces 14L are connected between each sign holder panel 26 on the longer sides of the display and two short cross braces 14S are connected between each opposing corner posts 12 on the shorter sides of the display, as shown in FIG. 5. The cross braces 14 and the corner posts 12 each contain a variety of channels and/or protrusions, such as those shown in FIG. 5A, which allow the components of the display to slide or snap together for assembly without the use of tools.

Once the display frame 27 is built, tiered card pockets 28 can be added to one or more sides of the display 100. Two sets of tiered support brackets 30 are attached between each opposing corner post 12. A first pair of tiered support brackets 30A are attached to an upper portion of each corner post 12 proximate to and/or supported by the lower cross brace 14. A second pair of tiered support brackets 30B are attached to a lower portion of each corner post 12 proximate to and/or supported by the support rails 24, as shown in FIG. 4. Each card pocket on the tiered card pocket panels 28 is an extruded, clear acrylic blend of plastic having a substantially u-shaped channel into which greeting cards may be inserted and displayed. In a preferred embodiment, each card pocket panel 28 is a single integral piece having five individual pockets or rows 27. However, each card pocket or row 27 can be an individual item which are slidably (or otherwise) attached to other card pocket or row 27. Also, the single, integral card pocket panel 28 may contain any number of rows and can be made in different lengths. The tiered card pocket panels 28 can be attached to one another using one or more support brackets. The card pockets 28 can come in a short size 27S and can be placed on each short side of the display 100. The card pockets 28 can also come in a longer size 27L to be placed on each long side of the display 100. In the preferred embodiment, one card pocket panel 28 having five attached card pockets can be placed on an upper support bracket 14 and one card pocket panel having five integral card pockets can be attached to a lower support bracket 14, as shown in FIG. 4. Therefore, each side of the display can accommodate up to ten greeting card pockets. Card pocket panels 28 containing any number of tiered card pockets may be used or a combination of card pocket panels having the same or a different number of card pocket tiers may be used. Alternatively, a pegboard panel 32 may be attached to one or more sides of the display in place of the greeting card pockets 28. A pegboard panel 32 is a board which is pre-drilled with evenly spaced holes which can be fitted with various attachment mechanisms used to display merchandise thereon. The pegboard panel 32 may be slid into a channel 34 along the sides of each opposing corner post 12. The pegboard panel 32 may be a single panel or may be made up of two or more separate panels, as shown in FIG. 3, for easier storage. The pegboard panels 28 may also come in a small size to accommodate the shorter sides of the display 100 or a larger size to accommodate the longer sides of the display 100. Each side of the display can accommodate either ten rows of card pockets or a pegboard panel. Optionally, a side cover panel 40 can be slid onto the inside surface of each corner post 12 to cover the structure and provide a uniform surface.

Optional sign holder brackets 34 may be inserted into the top end of each corner post 12 for holding signage 36 therebetween, as shown in FIG. 2. The sign holder brackets 34 contain u-shaped channels so that signs can easily be inserted into and removed therefrom. Each side of the display can accommodate one sign 36 which spans the length of the side. The sign holder brackets 34 and signs 36 are optional and can be placed on one or more sides of the display or can be removed completely therefrom. Also, an optional top cover 38 can inserted over the top center portion of the display 100, as shown in FIG. 2. A fully assembled display 100 is shown in FIG. 1.

In a preferred embodiment, each long side of the display is approximately 42-inches wide with approximately 37 ⅛-inches of card pocket or pegboard space and each short side of the display is approximately 40-inches wide with approximately 24 ¼-inches of card pocket or pegboard space. The length of the display is approximately 47 ½-inches without signage and approximately 63 ¼ with signage. Also, in the preferred embodiment, the base or bumper frame is made of sheet metal, steel tubing and vacuum formed ABS plastic, which can resist impact from shopping carts, etc. Corner channels and sign holder are made of extruded high impact polystyrene plastic. The horizontal cross-braces are made of vacuum formed high impact polystyrene. Card pockets are extruded clear acrylic blend plastic and support brackets are sheet metal.

Just as the display fixture of the present invention can be quickly and easily constructed, it can just as quickly and easily be disassembled or taken down. Since the components can be snapped or slid into place, there are no small attachment devices which must be taken apart with the use of tooling. Once the components of the display are broken down and taken apart, the individual parts can easily be stored within one or two larger, existing greeting card fixtures during extensive time periods between major selling seasons. Many of the components of the display are made up of individual pieces that are slidably attached to other components via various channels, or snapped together via male and female connection mechanisms. Most of these components, when broken down to the individual piece level are relatively flat or planar, such as the base bumper panels, support rails, cross braces, sign holders, pegboard pieces and tiered card pockets, as shown in FIG. 8. Many of the larger, standard greeting card display fixtures contain storage space which can be accessed through doors located beneath the rows of card tiers or through openings at the opposing ends of the display. The individual pieces of the display can conveniently be stored within this space.

While the collapsible display 100 of the present invention has been described herein with regard to a preferred embodiment and specific materials, sizes and locations and arrangement of parts with respect to one another, nothing in the present invention is considered to limit the scope of the invention. Different materials and sizes have been contemplated and are considered to be within the scope of the present invention. For example, card pockets and pegboard panels have been discussed herein, however, other display panels, such as slat wall panels, shelves, curved card pockets or other relevant materials or display devices may be used. Sizes of the display have been given with respect to the preferred embodiment, however, the display may be smaller, larger and in dimensions varied from the described preferred embodiment. The foregoing embodiments of the present invention have been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. These descriptions and embodiments are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above disclosure. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principle of the invention and its practical applications to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention in its various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. 

1. A merchandise display comprising: a base comprising four bumper panels arranged in a substantially square shape; four corner posts attached to the base, each corner post attached to the base proximate to each corner of the base; one or more cross braces attached between each pair of corner posts; a plurality of channels or rows attached to the one or more cross braces between at least one pair of corner posts; wherein the entire display is operative to being picked up and transported by a forklift, wherein the entire display is operative to be assembled and disassembled without the use of any tools, and wherein when the entire display is disassembled, the disassembled display may be inserted into a storage space.
 2. The merchandise display of claim 1 further comprising at least two sign posts, each of the at least two sign posts being attached to an adjacent pair of the four corner posts.
 3. The merchandise display of claim 2 further comprising at least one sign which is inserted between the at least two sign posts.
 4. The merchandise display of claim 1, wherein the four corner posts are attached to the base via four legs attached to two of the four bumper panels.
 5. The merchandise display of claim 1, wherein two of the four sides of the display are shorter than the other two sides.
 6. The merchandise display of claim 1 further comprising at least one peg board panel which is attached between at least one pair of corner posts.
 7. The merchandise display of claim 1, wherein two sides of the substantially square-shaped display contain the plurality of channels or rows and two sides of the substantially square-shaped display contain peg board panels.
 8. The merchandise display of claim 1, wherein the storage space is located in a larger greeting card gondola.
 9. A merchandise display comprising: a base structure comprising four bumper panels arranged in a substantially square shape, two of the four bumper panels having two pivotable legs attached thereto wherein the pivotable legs move between a first position wherein the pivotable legs are parallel with the bumper panel for storage purposes and a second position wherein the pivotable legs are perpendicular to the bumper panel for supporting the merchandise display; four corner posts, each of the four corner posts attached to one of the four pivotable legs of the base structure; at least one cross-brace attached between each adjacent pair of the four corner posts; at least one greeting card pocket panel attached to the at least one cross-brace between at least two adjacent pair of the four corner posts, the greeting card pocket panel having at least five individual card pockets arranged in a tiered configuration; wherein the merchandise display is operative to be assembled and disassembled without the use of power or hand tools.
 10. The merchandise display of claim 8 further comprising a second cross-brace attached between each adjacent pair of the four corner posts.
 11. The merchandise display of claim 9, wherein the at least one cross-brace is attached proximate to a vertical midsection of each adjacent pair of the four corner panels and the second cross-brace is attached proximate to an upper portion of each adjacent pair of the four corner panels.
 12. The merchandise display of claim 8, wherein two greeting card pocket panels are attached to two cross-braces attached between at least two adjacent pair of the four corner posts.
 13. The merchandise display of claim 11, wherein at least one peg board panel are attached to two adjacent pair of the four corner posts.
 14. The merchandise display of claim 8, wherein two greeting card pocket panels are attached to two cross-braces attached between each adjacent pair of the four corner posts.
 15. The merchandise display of claim 8, wherein the pivotable legs are positioned such that two sides of the display are longer than the other two sides of the display.
 16. A merchandise display comprising: four bumper panels which are snap fit together to form a substantially square-shaped base structure; two of the four bumper panels having two legs permanently attached thereto for supporting the base structure; at least one support rail attached between two opposing bumper panels; four corner posts which are removably attached to the two legs located on two of the four bumper panels; at least one cross-brace removably attached between each adjacent pair of corner posts; and at least one greeting card pocket panel having a plurality of card pockets contained thereon in a tiered configuration removably attached between at least two adjacent pair of corner posts.
 17. The merchandise display of claim 15, wherein the legs of the base structure hold the display off the ground, enabling a forklift to fit therebeneath for moving the display.
 18. The merchandise display of claim 15 further comprising a sign holder panel removably attached to each of the four corner posts.
 19. The merchandise display of claim 15 further comprising a sign holder bracket removably inserted over the top of each of the four corner posts.
 20. The merchandise display of claim 18 further comprising a sign removably attached between at least two pairs of sign holder brackets.
 21. The merchandise display of claim 15, wherein the display is operative to be disassembled and stored within a storage space
 22. The merchandise display of claim 21, wherein the storage space is a larger greeting card gondola. 